It’s the age of the easy-access screen, and it has rapidly penetrated even the lives of the youngest in our society. The screen time for infants and toddlers becomes more ascendant because now they get connected to the screens even if they are small such as the television, smartphones, tablets, or computers. On the other hand, the consequences of such early exposure to screens on the still-forming brains of infants and toddlers are not yet fully clear. 

Reasons Why Babies Spend Time on Screens

1. Convenience: Screens become the baby's entertainment center, which gives parents to go about other things without disturbing them.

2. Accessibility: Nowadays it is the ease with which parents resort to the screen babysitters, putting down iPads or mobile phones to cease the impending cries.

3. Educational Claims: Many apps are advertised as educational allowing some parents to think that screens are good for their babies' learning.

4. Peer Influence: In affecting the behavior of the parents by using screens with their babies, other parents may induce them to change their minds about screen time.

5. Parental Fatigue: Screens serve as a short-term diversion to allow tired parents time to relax while the duplets are happy and content.

6. Digital Dependency: An online world is key not only to our adults but also to children who are using the screens for fun and communication.

7. Marketing: As screen-based media is heavily advertised, is viewed as normal, and the fact that the screens are part of them.

8. Cultural Shift: The growing culture of society that is characterized by screens has a heavy implication in parenting practices and society's attitude towards screen time.

9. Lack of Awareness: While many parents might be unaware of the negative implications of having babies overexposed to screens, others still can insist on it.

Fascinating But Not Effective Learning Tools

Screens can be witnessed acting as hyper-attractive thing for infants and toddlers who just look at them to receive attention since there are bright colors, fascinating movements, and engaging sounds. However, even though they cover up this reality through their visual appeal, screens fail to simulate the responsive and interactive nature of real-life interactions. Researchers have discovered that infants who are under the age of one don’t learn well from the screens.

Effect on Attention Time 

For a child to develop the ability to concentrate; they will need surroundings from their environment that give them the needed stimuli. Children's continual interaction with screens showing fast flashing images, which they often find very interesting, can hurt their ability to concentrate and pay attention. The children`s parallel brain processors cannot keep up with the rapid-fire nature of screen content so the information only partially gets processed. In sum, this may translate into reduced attention spans and poorer skills in staying focused over a long period of time while working on tasks of prolonged duration.

Interference with Self-Regulation

Boredom is a crucial component of child development that develops patience, improves skill of time management, and teaches children how to control their impulsiveness. Nevertheless, constant exposure to screens might put children at risk for the experience of inactivity and self-regulatory development. Prolonged screen stimulation may result in an addiction-like relationship with the external world, thus diminishing the capacity for one to independently imagine and to be motivated for his or her life. Children who have always relied on screen devices for quick thrills may get bored if they are not engaged in classroom activities or outdoor games, for instance.

Effect of Social and Emotional Skills and Empathy

What is so fundamental and irreplaceable is the physical presence, a fundamental condition, for the learning of interpersonal skills and empathy in the early years. Screens limit children´s ability to read facial expressions and thereby, to interpret non-verbal cues, which we call body language, key features that affect social interaction. If the kids did not have the chance to socialize with fellow kids, they might be faced with the challenge of possessing empathy and understanding social signals in the future.

The Idea of Balancing Use of Screen

- Put a time limit on their time spent on apps and games by selecting educational games and programs instead.

- Emphasize real-world activities rather than screen time in hands-on activities as much as possible.

- Get involved in children's screen time by talking to them about what it is that they are looking at or playing.

- Spend the mealtime and before going to sleep without the screen at all.

- By getting involved and leading by example, parents should limit their own screen use while under the same roof as children.

Ultimately, given that the screens have only a short-term relief effect on parents of kids who are under age 2, it can be said that excess TV and computer time during this period may result in long-term development problems. Parents who choose to take real-world communication more seriously and set limits on screen time have a chance to give their children a promising beginning. It is equally important to pay attention to the essence of appropriate screen use and emphasize those activities that facilitate proper development and social interaction for kids.